The following is a letter to the editor that I submitted to the Richmond Times Dispatch on November 9, 2005, and was published on November 16. Editor, Times Dispatch: After the Supreme Court recently decided in the Kelo case that the government could seize private property on any whim, the public was rightly outraged. They demanded and received swift legislation from their local governments to protect private property. However, this same public has been sympathetic to recent calls from Congress for oil companies to justify their profits and to “donate” a percentage of these profits to the poor for heating assistance. Why is there such a contradiction in the public’s philosophy? Perhaps the answer lies in the entitlement mentality that permeates much of America. People insist that the government leave their personal property alone, but at the same time, they feel entitled to the property of others and request that the government demand “voluntary contributions” (at the point of a gun) so that the loot can be redistributed to their neighbors. It is time that we remember that our country was founded on the philosophy of individual rights and the right to property. These rights extend to all, including “big business”.